Nazareth

Boynton Beach Congregational United Church of Christ, 115 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, has scheduled a special Advent session for noon Dec. 22. The session will include a viewing of Jesus of Nazareth, produced by Franco Zeffirelli followed by a discussion and brief worship. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy while watching the presentation. Call 561-734-1699 for information. Movie focuses on abuse The 10th annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival of the Jewish Arts Foundation is planning to present an Israeli movie on domestic abuse at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Carefree Theatre, 2000 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach.

You can't gaze into Tule's liquid, shining eyes without being moved. Happiness bursts from those glowing orbs and her tail wags rapidly, the sleek fur coat that covers the yellow Labrador retriever mirroring the 12-year-old's meticulous care. But Tule's eyes didn't always shine. Tule was plagued by crippling arthritis, her hindquarters severely compromised and her enthusiasm toward life muted. If Tule wasn't living during the 21st century, her twilight years might have turned ugly.

It has been nearly 2,000 years, the Bible says, since the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary in the tiny town of Nazareth to announce that she would soon give birth to a savior. As the 2,000th anniversary of that event, what is known as the "annunciation," approaches, the modern state of Israel is preparing for the biggest influx of Christian tourists in its short history. Millions of visitors from the United States and around the world are expected to come to Nazareth in the year 2000, or before, for the celebration of the birth of Christianity.

By The Rev. Pedro Corces St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, April 1, 2007

St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church Catholic churches and other Christian churches with a long liturgical tradition have been getting ready in the last few weeks for the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday. It celebrates the short-lived triumphant entrance of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem, hours before his arrest, trial and final execution. It is the beginning of Holy Week that culminates with the joyful and hope-filled celebration of Easter. The first reading for the Mass of Palm Sunday is taken from the Hebrew Scriptures, concretely from Chapter 50, verses 4-7 from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

And with those magic words, "Last show of the series," CBS` thuddingly low-rated Spies (8 p.m., WTVJ-Ch. 4, WTVX-Ch. 34) goes to that great test pattern in the sky, weeks ahead of its scheduled departure. Taking a quantum leap in quality, we move up to NBC for Jesus of Nazareth (9 p.m., WPTV-Ch. 5, WSVN-Ch. 7). Robert Powell stars as Jesus, with Ian McShane in the principal supporting role tonight, as Judas. Franco Zeffirelli directed this exemplary 1977 miniseries, virtually a textbook example of how to do a biblical epic without flash and fanfare.

Israel has adopted a compromise plan to resolve a violent dispute in Nazareth between Muslims and Christians. The plan would allow a small mosque to be built next to a planned plaza for millennial pilgrims. The conflict over Muslim plans to build a large mosque on the site of the plaza set off clashes for several days this month in the Israeli Arab town, which is revered by Christians as the boyhood home of Jesus. The Vatican and church leaders warned that millennial celebrations there, including an expected visit by Pope John Paul II, could be jeopardized.

Churches across the Holy Land closed their doors on Monday in protest over an Israeli government decision allowing Muslims to build a mosque near a revered Christian shrine in this biblical city. The protest, coming in the very birthplace of Christianity and on the eve of its millennial celebration, jolted the delicate balance of religious coexistence in this region and disappointed scores of pilgrims and tourists. At the heart of the dispute is concern among the Christian minority that its numbers are dwindling, and that the survival of its community and status are under threat.

By The Rev. Pedro Corces St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, April 1, 2007

St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church Catholic churches and other Christian churches with a long liturgical tradition have been getting ready in the last few weeks for the Liturgy of Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday. It celebrates the short-lived triumphant entrance of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem, hours before his arrest, trial and final execution. It is the beginning of Holy Week that culminates with the joyful and hope-filled celebration of Easter. The first reading for the Mass of Palm Sunday is taken from the Hebrew Scriptures, concretely from Chapter 50, verses 4-7 from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

About 400 children ages 3 to 12 were able to "walk where Jesus did" thanks to re-created interactive scenes of Jerusalem and other Holy Land towns, at First Baptist Church of West Hollywood. The church's Vacation Bible School program this month gave them a chance to experience such things as working in a carpenter shop, making coin purses in a marketplace and worshiping in synagogues while sitting on rugs. Groups "walked" each night of the five-day program in a different city _ Jerusalem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethlehem and Bethany.

I know who is going to win the next election. Nothing carries better than the right relationship. Al Gore knew it when he picked a close relation in God's realm. I do not know how versed Mr. Lieberman is in Jewish history. Historically that relationship did not carry too much favor for the relatives of God's son. "The compassion and love and inspiration of Jesus of Nazareth" has left serious wounds on the body of its people. While I will vote Democratic, as I share other parts of its agenda, I wish the "couple" would eliminate deity from this realm.

Spare a thought for Kayleigh, a little girl who had to learn some of the harsh realities of life, but didn't get the message at first. This 5-year-old got a hamster when her mother decided it was time for her to learn how to take care of a pet. Together mother and daughter made a big production of buying a cage and setting it up in Kayleigh's room with plenty of food, etc. But one day the hamster escaped and was lost in the house. Kayleigh and her family turned the house upside down and finally found him. Several weeks later, while Kayleigh was at school, the hamster disappeared again.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Universal, priced for rental, not rated) 2001. Directed by Nick Morris; starring Glenn Carter, Jerome Pradon, Rene Castle and Rik Mayall. Andrew Lloyd Webber has found success with revivals and video adaptations of his smash hit musicals such as Cats and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The latest to get the special video adaptation treatment is Jesus Christ Superstar, based on a recent British production of Webber's 1971 Broadway rock opera about the last seven days of Jesus Christ's life on Earth from the perspective of Judas Iscariot.

I know who is going to win the next election. Nothing carries better than the right relationship. Al Gore knew it when he picked a close relation in God's realm. I do not know how versed Mr. Lieberman is in Jewish history. Historically that relationship did not carry too much favor for the relatives of God's son. "The compassion and love and inspiration of Jesus of Nazareth" has left serious wounds on the body of its people. While I will vote Democratic, as I share other parts of its agenda, I wish the "couple" would eliminate deity from this realm.

A group of devout Muslims mingled in a square on one side of the street. Some Christians held forth in front of their family shops across the road. Between them were metal barriers and an army of Israeli police officers. Israeli military sharpshooters watched warily from the rooftops. A feud last Easter over a proposed mosque next to a famous Catholic Church here erupted into rioting between people of the two faiths. On Saturday, the mood seemed festive though, as Pope John Paul II waded into the controversy -- literally.

JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity. Paula Fredriksen. Knopf. $26. 327 pp., illustrated. Like no other figure in Western history, he provokes arguments that probably have no resolution because there is no indisputable evidence upon which to build a case. And nearly 2,000 years after he died, Jesus is still a lightning rod for contentious reinterpretation. This is understandable -- the hunger to know the man who gave birth to a religion that shaped the modern world will likely never be sated.

Boynton Beach Congregational United Church of Christ, 115 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, has scheduled a special Advent session for noon Dec. 22. The session will include a viewing of Jesus of Nazareth, produced by Franco Zeffirelli followed by a discussion and brief worship. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch to enjoy while watching the presentation. Call 561-734-1699 for information. Movie focuses on abuse The 10th annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival of the Jewish Arts Foundation is planning to present an Israeli movie on domestic abuse at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Carefree Theatre, 2000 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach.

James Roper grew tired of chasing loiterers from his parking lot at Atlantic Market, day in and day out. "It's bad for business, you know," Roper said, as he washed down the lot with a hose, cleaning out the previous night's debris. Roper became frustrated to the point that he actually built a little shelter behind his store at 633 West Atlantic Avenue, giving those who insist on hanging out in his lot a shady place to sit, play cards and dominoes and talk. "Before they were all up on my store front," Roper explained.

Spare a thought for Kayleigh, a little girl who had to learn some of the harsh realities of life, but didn't get the message at first. This 5-year-old got a hamster when her mother decided it was time for her to learn how to take care of a pet. Together mother and daughter made a big production of buying a cage and setting it up in Kayleigh's room with plenty of food, etc. But one day the hamster escaped and was lost in the house. Kayleigh and her family turned the house upside down and finally found him. Several weeks later, while Kayleigh was at school, the hamster disappeared again.

Churches across the Holy Land closed their doors on Monday in protest over an Israeli government decision allowing Muslims to build a mosque near a revered Christian shrine in this biblical city. The protest, coming in the very birthplace of Christianity and on the eve of its millennial celebration, jolted the delicate balance of religious coexistence in this region and disappointed scores of pilgrims and tourists. At the heart of the dispute is concern among the Christian minority that its numbers are dwindling, and that the survival of its community and status are under threat.

Israel has adopted a compromise plan to resolve a violent dispute in Nazareth between Muslims and Christians. The plan would allow a small mosque to be built next to a planned plaza for millennial pilgrims. The conflict over Muslim plans to build a large mosque on the site of the plaza set off clashes for several days this month in the Israeli Arab town, which is revered by Christians as the boyhood home of Jesus. The Vatican and church leaders warned that millennial celebrations there, including an expected visit by Pope John Paul II, could be jeopardized.